Doctor gets probation, community service for Laguna Canyon Road crash that killed 2 men

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Dr. Robert McFarland Pettis, left, a head and neck surgeon, stands for his sentence with his attorney Paul Meyer before Judge Gregg Prickett after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and was sentenced to three years of probation in Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA on Monday morning, October 16, 2017. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

SANTA ANA – A Laguna Beach doctor was sentenced to community service and three years of probation on Monday, Oct. 16, for a crash on Laguna Canyon Road that killed two landscapers as they were heading to work.

At about 6:45 a.m. on April 2, 2013, Robert McFarland Pettis was driving a Tesla Model S on northbound Laguna Canyon Road when he veered into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on with a Honda Accord, killing the driver, Alberto Casique, 47, of Anaheim and the passenger, Armando Gonzalez, 38, of Santa Ana.

Dr. Robert McFarland Pettis, a head and neck surgeon, listens to four victim impact statements before he plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and was sentenced to three years of probation in Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA on Monday morning, October 16, 2017. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Judge Gregg L. Prickett listens to family impact statements during the sentencing of Dr. Robert McFarland Pettis, a head and neck surgeon, who plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and was sentenced to three years of probation in Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA on Monday morning, October 16, 2017. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Nephew of victim Armando Garcia, Guillermo Garcia makes his victim impact statement during the sentencing of Dr. Robert McFarland Pettis, a head and neck surgeon, who plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and was sentenced to three years of probation in Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA on Monday morning, October 16, 2017. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Nephew of victim Armando Garcia, Feliciano Garcia makes his victim impact statement during the sentencing of Dr. Robert McFarland Pettis, a head and neck surgeon, who plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and was sentenced to three years of probation in Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA on Monday morning, October 16, 2017. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Nephew of victim Armando Garcia, Jesus Garcia makes his victim impact statement during the sentencing of Dr. Robert McFarland Pettis, a head and neck surgeon, who plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and was sentenced to three years of probation in Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA on Monday morning, October 16, 2017. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Dr. Robert McFarland Pettis, a head and neck surgeon, receives a sentence of three years of probation in Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA on Monday morning, October 16, 2017. Pettis plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. (Photo by Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Pettis, an ear, nose and throat doctor with offices in Irvine and Huntington Beach, was accused of speeding. He was charged with two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one felony count of driving the wrong way on a divided highway causing death.

He had faced up to nine years in prison, but under a deal with prosecutors on Monday he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. As part of the plea deal, Pettis, 52, admitted in court that he was driving at an unsafe speed.

“I would just like to add that I pray for Alberto and Armando every day,” Pettis told the judge.

Speaking in court, several of Gonzalez’s family members said they have forgiven Pettis and asked the judge to impose the sentence he believed was best.

Daniel Bustamante, who became close friends with Gonzalez after he hired him to help remodel his Laguna Hills home 10 years ago, said the family, though devastated, has forgiven Pettis.

Bustamante said Gonzalez, a father of two, was an immigrant from Mexico who had lived here illegally for about 20 years. On the day of his death, he received his green card in the mail, Bustamante said.

“He was a good father, and a hard-working man who wanted a better life for his family,” he said.

When handing down the sentence, Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett commended the victims’ family members for showing “incredible strength and graciousness.”

Pettis’ defense attorney, Paul Meyer, said Pettis is a “wonderful surgeon and human being (who has) admitted his excessive speed and his great sorrow from the very beginning.”

Immediately after the crash, Pettis jumped out of his car and rendered first aid despite his own injuries, Meyer added.

Kelly Puente covers courts and criminal justice for the Register. She has worked as a journalist since 2006 covering everything from education to crime and breaking news. Kelly previously worked at the Long Beach Press-Telegram before joining the Register in 2013.